Everything In Moderation
by becsti
Summary: The surprising thing was that Maya resorted to using her own money to buy her burgers. If this didn't ring alarms bells in Nick's head, nothing would.
1. Chapter 1

Stretching her aching limbs, Maya stood from her cross-legged position on the floor. She carefully walked across the rocky path beneath the waterfall and grabbed a towel to dry herself off. That afternoon's training had been particularly arduous. Wrapped in her towel, Maya trudged back towards the Fey manor, pain coursing through her body.

_Uhh, I could really go for a nice juicy burger right about now. _But whilst she was training, she had a strict no burger diet, enforced by the older spirit mediums. Keeping in shape is very important if you want to be the Master apparently. But really, burgers weren't that bad. They had healthy ingredients like lettuce and… tomato. Plus, isn't red meat good for a growing girl? It was pointless though, arguing with the Elders; they always got their way.

_Next time I visit Nick I'll just have to make sure there are burgers at every meal! Okay, maybe just every dinner. That's reasonable, right?_

Any further thoughts on burgers stopped there as Pearl came rushing out to greet Maya, take her bag and run back in to prepare a hot bath for Maya.

A bath sounded great, especially after sitting under a freezing waterfall for an hour.

* * *

><p>A few weeks later, Maya hopped off the train into a sea of people. Nick said he'd be meeting her here, but with all the people on the platform, she wondered whether they'd be able to find each other.<p>

After a good five minutes of aimless wandering, she finally caught sight of a familiar blue suit.

"Nick, hey Nick!" she shouted enthusiastically, waving her arms around like a mad woman.

"Maya it's so good to see you again," Nick said as he pulled her in to a tight hug. "It's been so long, how are you?"

"I'm great, though I could do for a burger or two!"

Nick chuckled. "Of course you could. Come on, if you're that hungry let's get out of here."

* * *

><p>"Ohh I can't decide what to have! Too many choices."<p>

"Why not order all of them? That's what you usually end up doing. There's no need for pretence," Nick said glumly. _Goodbye money. The short time that we were together was great. Why must Maya get in the way of our love?_

"Nick! Are you listening? I said I'd have the King Burger with extra sauce." Maya's eyes glazed over as she remembered the deliciousness that was the King Burger.

Her reminiscence was interrupted by the waitress who, forgoing pleasantries took down their order and left in a hurry. Before Nick was able to comment on her rudeness, Maya began talking animatedly about Pearly and Kurain. Her training had been really intense lately so she hadn't had much time to spend with her cousin.

"Pearly's getting real good at reading nowadays. Every night before she goes to bed, we read together. Its basically the only alone time we get with all of my new duties I have to fulfil." Maya's mood had turned from happy to solemn. Nick hated seeing her like this, mainly because he never knew how to deal with it. Luckily he was saved by the churlish waitress who practically threw their food at them. Maya didn't seem to notice – she already had a mouth full of burger.

Nick picked up his grilled chicken sandwich and took a more socially acceptable sized bite. By the time he swallowed, Maya had already downed half her burger.

"Geez Maya, maybe you should take it a little easy there." All he got was a muffled reply – her mouth was still full of food. He took an educated guess that it was something along the lines of _don't be silly, Nick. This is how you're supposed to eat burgers!_

"Seriously though Maya, you're not a little girl anymore. Your body isn't just going to burn off all of that burger. If you don't watch out, you'll get fat." At this point, she swallowed the remainder of her burger and was ready for a retort.

"Well for one it's been a while since I've been a 'little girl.' Heck you have only known since I've been a mature young lady." Nick interrupted with an amused snort. "Hey you know its true! Plus, there's no way I'm ever going to get fat. Burgers aren't _that_ bad for you and even if they were – which there are not – I have a super duper metabolism, so I wont be getting fat anytime soon." She made a point of nodding her head as if to confirm the truth in her statement.

"Ah Maya, I don't think that's entirely – "

"Nick, I'm still hungry." She whined. "Let's order dessert!"

_Ugh I never win. Sorry wallet, its not a good day for you and I._

* * *

><p>Maya had been the city for a week now. No new cases had come up, which left the pair with a lot of spare time on their hands. And for Maya, spare time meant burger time.<p>

_Is it just me or has she been more gluttonous than usual?_

Maya had been consuming a concerning amount of burgers of late. Usually it would be one, maybe two, per day whilst she was in the city. But the past week it had been more like three or four.

_Basically everyday she's wanted burgers for lunch AND dinner. That's just ridiculous, even for Maya._

The situation had become so bad that Nick had refused to go with her.

"Three grilled chicken sandwiches is more than enough for me for one week." _Plus I don't think my wallet could handle it much longer._ Maya had of course been quite upset by his lack of enthusiasm. The surprising thing was however, that she resorted to using her _own_ money to buy her burgers. If this didn't ring alarms bells in Nick's head, nothing would.

He warned her about eating too many burgers, but that had been about as effective as it had been the first time he warned her.

"Won't you get sick of burgers if you eat that many?" he would ask, but she'd just shrug it off, saying that once she headed back to Kurain there would be no more burgers. Better use this time in the city as best as you can right?

* * *

><p>The second week of her stay was much more tame than the first. Maya only went out for burgers <em>once<em> per day and on Thursday she didn't even go.

_She had been in Kurain for about 3 months straight. I guess she was just catching up on all the burgers she missed out on._

* * *

><p>Saturday was the last day of her stay before she returned to Kurain on Sunday. Maya woke up feeling groggy and quite late for her. The clock read 7:45.<p>

_Whoops. Slept in a bit long today. I guess I can skip meditation just this once._

First order of business after meditation was always breakfast. Maya quickly began getting changed out of her pyjamas and into her normal robes.

_Well, most people wouldn't call them normal would they?_

She was stuck in thought when she noticed her robe wasn't tying up.

_Hmm, must be caught on something._

She unthreaded the sash then rethreaded it making sure that it wasn't tangled or twisted. She wrapped her robe around her, but it didn't connect properly.

_It couldn't have shrunk in the wash could it? I don't think I've even washed this one at Nick's. How weird._

She dismissed this oddity, after all, the robe still fit; it was just a little tighter than usual. She grabbed the sash to tie the whole outfit together. She met the two ends together, but when she tried to tie them together, they were too short.

_Uh-oh, this doesn't look good._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Okay, okay don't panic. Maybe this isn't even mine. I probably grabbed someone else's robe in my rush to pack._

Maya laughed half-heartedly to herself. This was of course the _only_logical reason why the robe didn't fit. Maya Fey did _not_ get fat.

With that settled, Maya rummaged through her bag for another set of robes. Putting them on, she was faced with the same problem as before.

_Okay _now _it__'__s __time __to __panic._

She paced around her room wracking her brain for a solution. She couldn't well return to Kurain, they'd notice her weight. But, if she stayed here, would Nick be so easily fooled?

Preferring to take her chances with the later, Maya turned on her phone, trying to think of an excuse to buy her more time.

_Too sick to travel? No someone would just come and pick me up. Working on an important case? I guess they could buy that._

Dialling the number for the Fey Manor, Maya paced around the room saying the lie over in her head. The dialling tone stopped ringing as someone picked up the phone on the other end.

"Hello, Kurain Village home of the Spirit Channelling technique," Pearl said cheerily.

"Pearly! It's me, Maya."

"Mystic Maya, it's so good to hear from you. You're coming home today, right?" Pearl asked.

"Uh…" Damn. Maya hadn't expected Pearl to pick up the phone. She couldn't lie to her little cousin. All the times that she had in the past made her feel sick with guilt and she'd ended up telling her the truth a couple hours later.

Pearl seemed to pick up on her hesitation. "What's wrong, Mystic Maya?"

"I don't think I can come home today, Pearls." Maya took a deep breath and told Pearl about what had happened. She stayed silent whilst Maya explained her situation. Once she was done, there was silence on the other end. Thinking that Pearl may have hung up, she began to talk again but was cut off.

"I have the perfect solution, Mystic Maya!" She exclaimed.

"You do?"

"Yeah!" Maya could see Pearl's head nod in affirmation of this. "There's an ancient training technique that can get you back to your original fitness."

"That's great, Pearly, but you know I can't come back to Kurain; the Elders will be furious that I was so irresponsible. It wouldn't be a good example to show the youngens considering I'm the master and all."

The silence on the other end of the line worried her. Pearly was getting upset, she could tell. She had to think of a way to make this better for her younger cousin.

"How about…" she began, "I come back in secret? No one has to know, just you and me."

"Ooh okay, Mystic Maya, anything to help," Pearl agreed.

"Great! But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, okay?"

"Of course, Mystic Maya! Your secret is safe with me."

"Just tell them I'm in the middle of working a very important case with Nick so I cant come back just yet," Maya said.

Pearls agreed to do just that.

After that, they each said their respective goodbyes and hung up. With that settled, Maya could breathe a sigh of relief.

_How does Pearly know about this technique when I haven't even heard of such a thing? Some master I am…_

Pearl had always been a bright child and was much more dedicated to her training than Maya had ever been at her age.

_Perhaps she read about it in one of those books she always seems to have her nose in nowadays._

But Maya didn't have time to muse on this any longer. It was already 8:20. There was a _slight_ chance that Nick could be up soon and he would know straight away that something was up if Maya wasn't ready. She didn't think he would take much notice of her now too small channelling robes, but it wasn't as if she had any other clothing choices. She did up her robe as tightly as her body would allow and went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her hair. Once her morning bathroom rituals were done, she ventured out into to the living/dining room/kitchen. Like the rest of Nick's apartment (barring the bathroom), the space was fairly cramped and littered with papers, files, magazines, discarded clothes and forgotten coffee mugs. It wasn't dirty per se, just messy.

She ate a breakfast of buttered toast and orange juice (she didn't want to over do it given her current situation) and went back into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She checked her stomach in the mirror to see if it was noticeably bigger. To the unobservant eye, she was the same old Maya; it was only if you looked _really_ closely that you could see the change. Satisfied with this (Nick wouldn't be observing _her_ that closely) she exited the bathroom, again returning to the living/dinning/kitchen to watch some reruns of the Steel Samurai.

Nick emerged from his room sometime after 9:30, his hair lacking its usual spikiness and eyes puffy from sleep. He mumbled something incoherent, probably a 'good morning', as he made a beeline for the coffee machine. He definitely was _not_ a morning person; it took him a good 10-15 minutes and a black coffee before he was actually awake and not a walking zombie.

He made his breakfast in silence as per usual – he didn't seem to have the mental capacity to hold a conversation so soon after he'd woken up and Maya knew there was no point in even trying to talk to him.

The Evil Magistrate had just avoided one of the Steel Samurai's finishing moves and narrowly escaped defeat yet again when Nick joined her on the coach, toast in one hand, coffee in the other. They sat in silence until the end of the episode, Maya transfixed by an unexpected twist in the plot, Nick still trying to get his brain to function.

"You're heading back to Kurain today, yeah?" Nick said sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

"Uh huh, that's right. You gonna see me off?"

"Of course don't I always?" He replied, giving her a wink and a smile. "When's the train come?" he asked as he stood up a headed back to the kitchen, leaving his _empty_ mug on the coffee table.

_No __wonder __this __place __is __a __mess.__Why __is __he __even __going __back __to __the __kitchen __then? _Maya had learnt that sometimes it was best not to question it and followed Nick, bringing the mug with her.

"2:30," Maya answered, pointedly placing the mug in the sink. "These last two weeks have gone by so quickly, huh Nick?"

"Yeah, they definitely have." He ignored the mug in the sink (probably on purpose) and poured himself a glass of juice. "Ugh, now I don't have an excuse for not getting a case," he groaned.

"Yes, I'm sure no water or electricity would be immensely better than no case," she said and stuck her tongue out when Nick responded with an eye roll.

"Whatever. I'm going to get ready. Do you want to head out for lunch as a parting gift from me?" He asked after finishing his juice.

"You _know_ I can't say 'no' to a free lunch," she replied, a huge grin plastered on her face. Another eye roll and Nick trudged off down the hall to take his shower.

* * *

><p>Lunch had gone well. Maya had opted for a salad instead of her usual burger, which had earned her a suspicious eye brow raise but nothing more. Nick had long ago given up trying to make sense of the girl, mostly because she rarely did. After about 5 minutes of enduring Maya's deceptively tight hugs (and narrowly avoiding oxygen deprivation), Nick finally waved Maya off as the train pulled out of the station.<p>

* * *

><p>Arriving at the station just outside Kurain, Maya cautiously made her way off the train, making sure she wouldn't be seen by anyone from the village that may have been there. She had told Pearl to wait for her under the old tree that stood just outside the entrance to the station. Its leaves were tinged a yellowish-green, some already orange in response to the cooling weather. Just like they agreed, Pearl was standing under it holding a bag of Maya's clothes and the items necessary for her training. When she noticed Maya's arrival a grin spread across her face and she ran to meet Maya, wrapping her small arms around Maya's waist.<p>

"Mystic Mayaaaa!" She exclaimed. "I missed you sooo much!"

"Aw me too Pearly," Maya responded, pulling her in for a big hug.

If Pearl noticed Maya's extra weight, she didn't mention it. Instead she got down to business explaining where and when the training would take place. They walked down the sandy path, which wound through a few hills ending at Kurain. When the path forked, one leading into the forest that surrounded the village and the other to the village itself, the girls went left and headed towards the place Maya would be training.

Pearl hadn't said just what _exactly_ the training would be, though she had mentioned something about waterfalls.

_Always with the waterfalls. And here I thought I'd get to avoid that this time._

A short while later, they arrived at a meadow in the middle of the forest. The grass was fairly long; indicating that no one really came up here otherwise the Elders would have had it mowed. She could here the soft rushing of water – there was a waterfall or river nearby. Maya had never been here before and wondered how Pearly had learnt of this place.

_Probably __the __same __way __she __learnt __about __this __training,_ she mused.

There was a small hut to the far left at the edge of the meadow surrounded by what appeared to be lavender.

"You'll be staying there, Mystic Maya," Pearls said pointing to the hut. "I've already prepared your bed and there's some bread and fruit in clothing box for dinner. I hope that's okay; it was the only food I could sneak out."

"That's fine, Pearly. All of this is great, you've done a wonderful job." She smiled down at her cousin who returned it two-fold.

"Good!" She said clasping her hands together. "I'll be back early tomorrow morning for a meditation session and then we can begin your training!" she said, her excitement palpable.

They said their goodbyes with a kiss and a hug and Pearl set off down the path back to Kurain. Maya wandered into the hut and placed her things down on the bed Pearl had prepared. The sun was setting and soon it would be dark. Maya decided on an early dinner so that she would be rested for tomorrow's training.

A little anxious about what tomorrow would bring, she settled into bed. That night, she dreamt of burgers.

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning, Pearls shook Maya awake. The hut was bathed in orange. _Sunrise._ Maya mentally gave herself a pat on the back for turning in early last night. It couldn't have been later than 5.30. Pearly had already exited the hut eager to get the training under way.

"C'mon, Mystic Maya, we don't have all day!" she exclaimed from somewhere in the meadow.

Maya groggily got up, trying to shake awake her sleep addled brain. She changed into her training robes – _bigger_ training robes – courtesy of Pearls, and stepped out into the morning sunshine. At that moment her stomach rumbled uncomfortably; boy was she hungry.

Walking up to her younger cousin she asked "what's on the menu for breakfast?"

A smug smile spread across Pearly's face. _Oh no, this cant be good._

"Mystic Maya," she began in a mock surprise tone, "you don't have breakfast _now._ Breakfast is _after_ your 2-hour meditation session."

"2 HOUR?" Maya exclaimed, _her_ surprise quite genuine. She stumbled on her words for a moment before she finally said: "How am I going to survive? I'll starve to death before then."

"There's no need to be so dramatic, Mystic Maya," Pearl replied, waving a dismissive hand and sounding wise beyond her years. "If you want the training to work, you have to do as I say and I say that breakfast is in 2 hours."

Pearl stood with her hands on her hips and determined expression on her face. When Maya didn't move or respond, Pearls stood up straighter, eyes narrowed, her stance screaming, "_just you try and challenge me_."

_This is madness! MADNESS!_ But despite Maya's inner protests, she acquiesced to Pearl's wishes. How were you supposed to refuse when someone looked at you like that?

The two girls walked in silence then, across the meadow and onto a small dirt track that wound down a hill through the forest. As they walked, Maya could here the rushing of water more clearly and soon enough they arrived at a small lagoon complete with waterfall. The sight was beautiful and serene: the water was clear – Maya could see the sand bed underneath – ferns and rocks lined the water's edge and butterflies flitted through the trees above. The whole scene was bathed in a yellow-green light making it feel warm and relaxing. Maya could already feel herself relax. The waterfall itself was only small – the water trickled down the rocks and slipped quietly into the pond. Maya looked questioningly as Pearls; this waterfall didn't have enough pressure for her usual meditation.

Noticing Maya's quizzical look, Pearls broke the silence: "This way," she jerked her head to the right and then walked in that direction. _Away_ from the waterfall.

_Where are we going now?_ Maya thought. _Wasn't I supposed to be meditating under that –? _

Her thoughts were cut off when they reached another clearing and were faced with a massive rock face – and when I say massive, I mean massive; it was towered above all the trees in the forest (and those trees weren't small by any means). It had a steep winding staircase carved into it that presumably led right to the top and Pearl motioned that they both climb it.

"Wait, wait, wait just a minute. What's going on here, Pearly? I thought I was supposed to be meditating." Maya's eyes had grown comically wide at the sight before her.

"But you are, aren't you? Don't you feel calm inside as you walk amongst nature. Don't you feel like you _are_ nature?" Pearly asked.

_Why did this get so philosophical all of a sudden?_

"So let me get this straight: I'm supposed to be meditating while climbing that HUGE rock? I think I prefer the freezing waterfall." Maya crossed her arms in defiance; there was absolutely _no way_ she was going up there. She raised an eyebrow, prompting Pearly to explain herself.

Pearly's expression darkened, and if Maya weren't questioning everything her younger cousin was doing at the moment, she would have been sure she saw disappointment there.

"Mystic Maya," she began after a long sigh, "there is no waterfall. I just said that so you wouldn't protest so much at my plan. The truth is…" here, Pearl paused, a little unsure of how what she was about to say would be received, "I lied," she said, her eyes apologetic. "There is no ancient channelling technique," – _ha! I knew it – _"I was just using that to disguise what you were _really_ going to do."

Maya uncrossed her arms, eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"… What am I _really_ going to do?" Maya said cautiously, not liking where this was going.

A small cheeky grin appeared on Pearl's face.

"Have you ever heard of… _boot camp_, Mystic Maya?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Maya stood frozen with shock. _She can't be serious._ Pearl's eyes shone with sincerity. _On no, she _is _serious!_ "… Boot camp?" she asked weakly, trying to hang on to the hope that this was all just a big joke. But those hopes were crushed at Pearl's serious nod – she wasn't messing around.

"Well," Pearls began, hands on hips, "are you going to show me that you truly are the Master or are you just a little girl playing at one?" Her tone and posture were challenging.

_I've never seen Pearly with so much attitude! It must be from all those books she's been reading. _Maya was never one to back away from a challenge and Pearl was right: she needed to prove that she could handle being the Master. She squared her shoulders. "Right. What's first?"

A huge grin broke across Pearl's face as she clasped her hands together in excitement. "I knew you'd do it Mystic Maya!" She exclaimed happily. "Let's go!" Wasting no time, Pearl turned on her heel and began walking swiftly towards the rock. _Oh right, I almost forgot about that._ Maya visibly deflated, shoulders hunching. Luckily, Pearl had her back turned and didn't see; it would definitely dampen her spirits if she had. With this realisation, Maya trotted after her younger cousin so she wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"So how many stairs do we have to climb?" she asked as she met Pearl at the base of the rock face. From here, it seemed to spiral on forever, the canopies of the trees blocking the top of the cliff from view.

"Only about 300," Pearl answered nonchalantly.

Maya's response was to merely gape at her in disbelief. "You can't be serious. I can't climb 300 stairs!"

"You can and you will." Pearl's no nonsense tone prevented Maya from any further outbursts. Pearl stepped aside and motioned for Maya to begin the long climb. As Maya put her left foot on the first step, she spun around when she saw Pearly walking away. "And where are you going?" She demanded, indignant.

An innocent smile graced Pearl's lips. "Oh Mystic Maya, you didn't think _I_ would be participating as well? I'm not the one who ate too many burgers…"

"Hey!"

"I'll meet you at the top," she continued, ignoring Maya's outburst. With that, Pearl waved and began walking back the way they'd come. "Good luck, Mystic Maya," she called from over her shoulder.

Maya turned reluctantly back to the rock face and groaned. This was going to be one long morning…

* * *

><p>As she made the exhausting journey up the stairs, Maya mumbled angrily to herself. "Stupid Pearls with her stupid boot camp. Stupid burgers with their stupidly delicious special sauce. Stupid special sauce with its stupidly high fat content." Soon, talking out loud became too difficult as her breathing quickened and her legs began to ache. She'd been climbing for ten minutes now and was beginning to regret agreeing to the whole thing. Looking up, all she could see were more stairs, the top still obscured by the trees. Maya groaned and stopped her journey to sit and rest her aching limbs; she was 99% certain both feet were covered in blisters.<p>

"Mystic Maya!" she heard the distant call of Pearl from way up above. "There's no time to rest!" _How can she see me from here?_ Maya scrambled to her feet; if Pearly was watching she wasn't going to disappoint her showing weakness.

Maya didn't know how much time had passed when she finally saw the top of the cliff, Pearl's head sticking comically over the edge as she watched her older cousin's progress. By this time, Maya was practically crawling up the stairs – a combination of the steepness of the stairs at this height and her fatigued legs.

"Ah flat land!" she exclaimed as she pulled herself over the last step. She lay on the soft grass, panting heavily, revelling in not having to move. "How I have missed you," she crooned, twirling blades of grass around her fingers.

"C'mon Mystic Maya, not time for dawdling!" Pearl said perkily. She began skipping off down the path that led deeper into the forest.

"You can't be serious!" Maya shouted after her. _How many times had she said that today already?_ She lay unmoving for as long as she thought she could get away with. Sighing deeply, she struggled to her feet, shuffling after her cousin with pain coursing though her body. Wearing an ironic smile, she thought of just _how much_ she was looking forward to the rest of the day, ignoring the _pleasant_ feeling of her blisters popping.

**To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Maya shuffled behind Pearls down the dirt path, trying her best not to put too much pressure on her blistering feet. The canopies of the trees overlapped above only allowing random streaks of sunlight through. Pearly began to hum merrily as the track twisted down a hill and turned to the west. Unfortunately Maya wasn't wearing a watch, so she didn't know when 2 hours would be up. All she knew was that she was _starving_. She could really go for a nice burger or too. Or maybe some waffles. Yes, she should stick clear of burgers for now, but waffles sounded delicious. And she could even add some blueberries to 'healthy it up'. Her stomach growled loudly at the thought of food and Pearl turned around, eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Don't fret, Mystic Maya, it will soon be time for breakfast," she assured. The path twisted further west and then south; they were heading back in the direction they'd come. _Thank goodness._

After another half hour of walking in the peaceful silence of the forest, they finally arrived back at the clearing with the hut. By this time Maya was ready to collapse and not get up for a whole week. The prospect of food, however, kept her on her feet. She followed Pearls eagerly to the hut.

On Maya's bed sat a picnic basket. _Pearls must have brought it up with her this morning._ Pearl opened it up and began taking out the contents and placing them on the bed. Maya was none too impressed with what she saw: two apples, a slice of bread and a weird looking thermos. _So much for waffles. _Pearly shook the thermos, the contents slushing noisily inside, and handed it over to Maya.

She stared at the proffered drink, the hint of a sneer on her face. She reluctantly took the thermos and opened the lid taking a sniff of the contents. It smelt almost like a chocolate milkshake. _Almost._

"What's this?" Maya asked uneasily. She had a bad feeling about it. Pearly put on a large smile and began to explain.

"It's called '_Rapid Loss'_ – it's supposed to help you lose weight. It expands in your stomach so you feel fuller for longer." She sounded like she was quoting a TV commercial. It wouldn't be surprising; Maya had seen these sorts of diet shakes on TV all the time. Some people claimed they worked, others said they were just scams. But if there was one thing they all agreed on, it was that they tasted horrible. Maya looked to her younger cousin, who was waiting expectantly, eyes shining with pride at her own cleverness. Maya took a steadying breath and then sipped the shake. Time seemed to stop as she swallowed, considering the taste. Pearl looked so hopeful, bless her. Maya's face contorted in disgust.

"Ewwww," she drawled, holding the offensive drink as far away from her as possible. That definitely did _not_ taste like chocolate. "Gross."

Pearls deflated at that, disappointed in Maya's reaction. "Mystic Maya, you _have_ to drink it otherwise the training won't work." Maya was just about to protest when she was hit by the most pathetic puppy dog eyes she'd ever seen.

She sighed in resignation. Grimacing, she lifted the thermos back to her lips. "Bon appetite," she announced unenthusiastically.

* * *

><p>After surviving the chocolate shake, Maya quickly munched on an apple to get rid of the horrid taste in her mouth. To her surprise, the shake actually worked – by the time she'd finished the apple, she was completely full. Pearl had offered her half a slice of bread, but Maya refused (a very rare occurrence for her to refuse food). Pearls quickly finished her own breakfast and then began to dress Maya's blistered feet.<p>

Most of the blisters had popped so the disinfectant Pearls used stung quite badly. When Maya's feet had been wrapped up practically mummy-style, she lay back on the bed, arms pillowed behind her head.

"Such a shame about those blisters," she started in a tone of mock-sadness. "I guess there'll be no more climbing stairs for me." Satisfied, she closed her eyes and let herself relax… until she felt Pearls looming over her. Reluctantly, she opened one eye and sure enough, Pearl was standing over her, hands on hips, expression stern.

Maya sighed. "Yes Pearl?"

"You do realise we're not done for today?" Pearls questioned, eyebrow quirking.

"What?" Maya sputtered. "I'm beat! Plus, debilitating blisters." She pointed to her feet.

Pearls smirked for a fraction of a second before schooling her features into pseudo-innocence. _Oh no, what has she got planned _now?

"But Mystic Maya," she began, sounding slightly offended. "What about all the core exercises you have to do?"

_Dare I even ask what these 'core exercises' are?_

Pearls elaborated: "You know, sit ups, push ups and my personal favourite, _the plank_." There was a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she spoke.

And so Maya found herself out on the meadow doing sit up number 42 to Pearl's irritating commentary.

"C'mon, higher than that, Mystic Maya! 43! Hey, do them properly! 44…"

When she'd finished the set, Pearl gave her time to rest. She was absolutely exhausted. Her feet ached, her legs ached, her stomach ached… and it wasn't even lunchtime.

**To be continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Maya was now well and truly into her training regime. It had been four days since she'd arrived at the isolated hut and with the help of her younger cousin, Pearls, had been shedding her burger kilos.

Pearls had somehow snuck a set of scales up to the hut (how she hadn't been caught, Maya had no idea). Since the first day, she'd already lost three kilograms. Her old robes were still a little tight, but Pearly predicted that they would only need a few more days before Maya was back to her physical peak.

The training had been extremely difficult; Maya was not going to deny that. However, she secretly thought that her successful weight loss was more a product of the shakes she'd been drinking than the exercise. She didn't dare tell Pearls this; her younger cousin had been so proud of herself for creating Maya's training plan it would break her little heart if Maya told her it probably wasn't necessary. Still, whenever Pearl returned to the village to go to _her_ training sessions, Maya carried out all the activities her younger cousin had left her.

As she watched Pearl's little form disappear into the trees as the youngster headed back for dinner, Maya couldn't help but wonder just how Pearl hadn't been caught.

* * *

><p><em>Kurain Village, Training Room<em>

It was already 10.30am and Mystic Mariah was growing impatient. Pearl Fey was one of her star pupils – she probably had the potential to surpass Master Maya in skill – but lately she'd been acting strange. The usually punctual girl had been arriving at her training sessions ten or even twenty minutes late. She always made excuses – she forgot the time as she meditated or there'd been _so many_ cats to feed that day. To say Mystic Mariah was concerned would be an understatement.

She turned her attention to the window and saw Pearl Fey rushing down the main road from the direction of the mountains. The little Fey had been spending an inordinately long time in those mountains every day, for what reason, Mystic Mariah could not fathom.

Pearl Fey came bursting through the entrance door seconds later, stopping dead when she realised she was late. Pearl gave a respectful little bow.

"Sorry for being late, Mystic Mariah," she panted. "I was meditating in the forest and lost track of time."

Mystic Mariah beckoned for the girl to come inside the training room.

"That is alright, dear child. Let us begin."

* * *

><p>All the Elders and the most important Feys were seated at the main table in the dinning hall. Everyone was enjoying their meal as Mystic Molly piped up.<p>

"Dear Pearl, you spoke to Master Maya on the phone, did you not?"

Pearl's mouth was full of food, so she nodded emphatically.

"Whatever is keeping her? She's been gone three weeks!"

All the Elders were now listening to the conversation. Some of the more _experienced_ Elders tisked, clearly unimpressed by the length of Maya's absence.

"She's helping Mr. Nick on a case; she should be back any day now," Pearly explained.

Mystic Molly merely nodded in reply. Pearls went back to eating her dinner, oblivious to the tension that had formed around the table.

"It is unfit for the Master to be away for so long," Mystic Mildred whispered to Mystic Mandy.

"And for such a trifling matter as well," Mystic Mandy replied.

Similar conversations were occurring between the other Elders as well, but Mystic Mariah paid them no mind. She was more concerned about Pearl Fey, whose training had been severely lacking as of late.

* * *

><p>Pearl scampered up the forest path with a small box of cherries and Maya's weight loss shake. She hadn't been able to snatch any other food; someone had entered the kitchen through the far entrance and Pearl had fled for fear of being caught.<p>

When she went into the hut, Maya was sound asleep as usual. The Master of Kurian was currently lying on her back, limbs sprawling, snoring softly.

Pearl pulled back the curtains of the hut's only window and shook Maya by the shoulders to wake her.

Maya groaned and mumbled something incomprehensible, but soon sat up and took the shake without complaint.

Maya had grown used to the taste of the _Rapid Loss_ shake (it still didn't taste nice, but she no longer felt the need to gag when she drank it).

The two ate the cherries while Pearl told Maya of the goings on of the village.

Today, Maya was going to run shuttles up and down the meadow, nothing too strenuous considering they'd just had breakfast.

Maya was halfway through her first set when a thunderous voice shouted:

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

Mystic Mariah stormed up the forest path towards the girls looking absolutely livid. Before Pearl or Maya could get a word in, Mystic Mariah spoke again.

"No, I don't want to hear a word of it! You _both_ will be coming back to the village this instant!" Her tone allowed no room for argument.

The girls exchanged worried looks as they trudged down the forest path behind Mystic Mariah.

This was not going to be pleasant.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

_Cold. So cold._ Maya lay shivering on the damp floor of the cavern. _This is it; this is the end. Goodbye cruel world._ She brought her knees up to her chest and shut her eyes. _I'm going to die wet and cold and fat._ She wailed softly. Apart from the lapping of the waterfall, the cavern was quiet. _They could have at least given me a burger for my final meal…_

* Shuffle shuffle *

Maya lifted up her head, which really served no purpose – the cavern was pitch black.

"Hello? Pearl? Mystic Mariah?" She sat up slowly and scanned the darkness. She heard more scuttling. Maya stood up warily. "This isn't f-funny," she announced, the conviction of her tone wavering.

* Squeak Squeak *

_Wait was that – _

Something furry brushed against her ankle.

"OHMYGOD WHAT WAS THAT?" She jumped and ran to the other side of the cavern, slamming straight into a wall.

"Ow ow ow ow _ow_." She rubbed her nose in pain. She leant back against the wall of the cave on high alert. _Ok, Maya, you can't die yet._ She heard the squeaking again and repressed a whimper. _No. There is NO WAY you're letting a rat gnaw on your slightly fat corpse._

* * *

><p><em>2 days earlier…<em>

Seated at the table were the 10 Elders of the village. They were all looking down at Maya as she stood awkwardly in the dinning hall, shoulders hunched. Mystic Mildred, the head Elder, adjusted her glasses, looking at the master with a sneer.

"Do you realise how irresponsible you've been, Mystic Maya?" she demanded in that nasally voice of hers.

_Hey, that's _Master_ Maya to you, old woman! _Maya bowed her head in shame. "Yes, Mystic Mildred."

"I don't think you do," Mystic Mariah chimed in. Maya lifted her head in surprise.

_Geez, what's with all the hostility? Looks like someone had their angry-flakes this morning…_

"While Mystic Pearl was helping you with your…" she made a vague hand gesture, "whatever, she was missing out on very important training."

Maya opened her mouth to speak but was cut off.

"We Elders have decided you must be punished for your childish behaviour," Mystic Mariah announced.

_Childish!? I'll show them childish – _

"You will serve four days isolation in the Cavern of Tears," Mystic Mariah commanded.

Maya went very still. "_The Cavern of Tears?"_ she squeaked. _Eep, that's not good._

"Yes, _the Cavern of Tears,"_ Mariah confirmed with a sadistic smile.

_No… they can't be serious. _"Aha ha… surely we can come to some _other _agreement?" Maya pleaded desperately.

"I'm sorry, but the council has made its decision," the Elder replied looking anything _but_ sorry. The others all nodded their heads solemnly in agreement. Mariah waved her hand and some young acolytes entered the hall carrying a plain woollen shift, a canteen and some wooden slippers. The acolyte carrying the clothes offered them to Maya. She gaped and turned back to the Elders.

"That is the typical garb worn by those who visit the Cavern of Tears," Mystic Mildred explained.

_What? But I'll freeze to death if I wear only that!_ But the expressions of the Elders allowed no room for argument, so Maya reluctantly took the clothes and trudged off to change.

As Maya was led away to the Cavern of Tears, she maintained a calm façade. But underneath, she was panicking.

_Oh no no no. I can't go to The Tears. This is bad – really bad. I haven't lived a long and fulfilling life! I'm too young and beautiful to die!_

Mystic Mariah escorted Maya to The Tears. She pushed a boulder away from the rock face to reveal a small passageway that went deep into the mountain.

"Enjoy your stay, _Master_," she snickered.

Maya gulped and stepped into the cave. Mystic Mariah pushed the boulder back into place without warning, plunging Maya into darkness. The cold enveloped her immediately. If there was light, Maya would have seen her breath puff out before her. She shivered.

_Oh yes, Mariah – enjoy it I shall._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Phoenix all but collapsed onto his office couch. He'd just finished his latest case, which had been a nightmare in every sense of the word. He was never going to look at Jack O' Lanterns and toilet paper the same again. Whilst his client hadn't been found guilty of murder, he _had_ been convicted of fraud, larceny and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm… It made Nick's head hurt just thinking about it.

_Is it too much to ask for a normal murder once in a while?_

He reluctantly stood up; there were mountains of paperwork to be done, after all.

_And how about some normal clients. Why do _I _get all the weirdos?_

He sat down at his desk and began sifting through the files noncommittally. After about 5 minutes of fruitless sifting, he checked his phone.

_Huh. No messages._

He returned to his sifting.

_It's been over a week. Why hasn't Maya called – or texted me at least? _

He bit his lip, considering whether to ring the main house. Maya did have a phone of her own but she preferred using the landline. Far more reliable she claimed.

_I'll give it another day or two. She's probably very busy with spirit channelling stuff…_

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile in the Cavern of Tears…<strong>

"When the moon is bright

with a pale blue light

and trouble is nearby,

Only one man fights

For what is right

The Steel Samurai~"

Maya coughed. Her voice had gone hoarse from singing the Steel Samurai theme song over and over. She shook her canteen and from the amount of water she could hear sloshing around, there were only a few mouthfuls lefts.

"The Steel Samuraiiiii," she croaked out miserably, taking a swig from the canteen.

After her ordeal with the dastardly rat and the ensuing head injury, Maya had sat down and moped, filling the silence with the Steel Samurai theme song. At one point, she'd even thought up the lyrics to a new verse.

Her stomach groaned and in the cavern it sounded like a tiger's growl.

"Ugh… Need. Burgers." She clutched her pitifully empty stomach. _At least I won't need to do Pearly's boot camp any more…_

She thumped her head back against the cavern wall in frustration.

"Ow!" _Good work, Maya. That just made my headache worse!_

_I'm sorry. Too much cold and not enough burgers make Maya go… ugh… um…_

… _Go crazy?_

Maya groaned. "Great. Now I'm talking to myself. What's next, hallucinations?"

She stared out into the blackness of the cave, in anticipation of said hallucinations. After a moment of dull nothingness she huffed.

"At least it would have passed the time," Maya grumbled.

She closed her eyes and listened the soft rush of the waterfall. It was falling harder than it had been when she'd first arrived. _How long have I been in here? Days? Weeks? _Months_?_ Her stomach rumbled again. _Oh god, they've forgotten about me, haven't they? I'm going to die in here. And I bet Mystic Mariah is cackling all the way to the Master's chair._

"If I ever get outta here…" She shook her fist weakly. Her bracelet rattled against her wrist softly and for a moment she was confused. Her channelling bracelets were made of ribbon, so what would –

"Oh," she said, fingering the jewellery. It was her limited edition What Would The Steel Samurai Do? bracelet. "Huh… What _would _you do, Steel Samurai?"

_Well, I certainly wouldn't be moping around like a baby…_

"What? Who said that?" _Oh no, it's the hallucinations!_

Maya stood up warily. "You'll never get me, disembodied voices!" she cried. Her declaration aroused newfound conviction. "And I won't let the Cavern of Tears get to me either!"

* Squeak Squeak *

_Eeep!_ She jumped back pressing herself against the wall. Her disease-ridden enemy was back. _No, I'm not going to let some stupid rat scare me!_

* Squeak Squeak *

Maya puffed her chest and began swinging her canteen around like a lasso. "Alright buddy. You've messed with the _wrong_ spirit medium. I AM THE MASTER OF KURAI –"

* Bang! *

"_MOTHER OF RAMEN!" _

In her fervour, she'd slammed her hand (and the canteen) against the cavern wall. The canteen was smashed to pieces, the last of her water now gone, and her hand was throbbing terribly.

"_Owwwww,_" she wailed. Definitely not what the Steel Samurai would do.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Sorry that this chapter is embarassingly late - I'm terrible at writing in a timely manner. But it's finally finished! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing.

* * *

><p>A bright light filled the cavern and Maya hissed as she was temporarily blinded.<p>

"Ah, Master Maya, there you are!"

Maya shielded her face from the glare as her eyes began to adjust to the light.

"Uh… Mystic _Molly_?" _What, Mystic Mariah didn't come to rub my 'disgrace' in further?_

"Yes, that's right. You're three days are up! It's time to go home." She offered her hand to Maya and helped her to stand.

"Wait. Did you say _three_ days? I thought my punishment was four?"

"We elders decided to shorten your punishment."

Maya walked unsteadily out of the cave. _Ahhh! Fresh air and freedom — oh how I missed you!_

"You have Mystic Pearl to thank," Mystic Molly continued. "It was because of her advocacy that we decided to release you today."

_Pearly. _Maya smiled wistfully. _She probably would make a better master _now_ then I ever could…_

As they walked down the narrow forest trail, Mystic Molly took a glance at Maya.

"Oh, Master Maya!" She exclaimed. "What happened to your face?!"

\\\\

A bath had been prepared for her when they reached the Fey manor. She shrugged off the itchy sack and looked at herself in the mirror. Her nose was bluey-purple and crusty blood ringed her nostrils. Despite not eating for three days she hadn't lost any weight. Maya couldn't bring herself to care.

"Ahhhhh…" she sighed as she lowered herself into the hot bath. _Sweet, heavenly warmth._ She closed her eyes and sunk further into the water. All her aches and pains from sleeping on cold, hard rock began to ease. _Finally I can relax-_

*BANG*

"Mystic Maya! Mystic Maya!" Pearl shouted as she flung open the door and barged into the bathroom.

_-Well, almost._

"Hey Pearly," she said as she sat up gingerly. "Heard you helped get me out of there a day early."

Pearl grinned. "I did! I convinced the elders that I'd work twice as hard to make up for the lessons I missed so that you could come back!"

"Aw, you didn't have to do that for me."

"Yes, I did! It's my fault you got in trouble so I had to make it up to you somehow…" Pearl looked down at her feet guiltily.

Maya sighed. "Pearly, I don't blame you for anything, okay?"

"Are you sure…?"

"One hundred per cent!"

"You're so kind, Mystic Maya," Pearl said, brightening. "Oh! The reason I came to see you was because the elders want to speak with you as soon as you're dressed."

Maya groaned and sunk back down into the bath. _So much for relaxation._

_\\\\_

After shortening her bath time considerably, Maya changed into her channeling robes and headed for the dining hall.

The village elders were all seated round the table much like when they had sentenced her to the Cavern of Tears. Maya shuddered at the feeling of déjà vu.

"Master Maya," Mystic Mildred greeted, "it's so good to have you back."

_Yeah, right. "_It's good to be back."

"I trust you've learnt your lesson?"

"I have. As the Master, I must act more responsibly and put the needs of the acolytes-in-training before my own."

Mystic Mildred nodded, satisfied with her answer, but a derisive snort came from further down the table.

"Mystic Mariah, you have something to add?" Mystic Mildred asked.

"Notice she mentions nothing about her repulsive gluttony," Mariah replied.

An awkward silence hung in the air until…

"_OBJECTION!_"

Maya flung out her arm and pointed at Mystic Mariah.

Her heart was pounding in her ears and adrenalin was coursing through her body. _Wow, now I know why Nick does this every chance he gets!_

The elders sat in stunned silence, taken aback by Maya's outburst.

"E-excuse me?" Mariah said. "What was that?!"

"How dare you speak to the Master like that," Maya said, lowering her arm to her hips and puffing out her chest, channeling all the bravado she'd seen Nick exude in court.

"Repulsive gluttony?! There's absolutely no evidence to prove that I've been gluttonous!"

Mystic Mariah looked very uncomfortable as all eyes turned to her. _That's right — it's payback time!_ Mariah opened her mouth to speak.

"Furthermore!" Maya shouted, cutting her off. "I resent your fatphobia. Do you have proof that it hinders my ability to be the Master of Kurain?"

Mystic Mariah was at a loss for words. "Well-I-uh… Your spiritual power! Yes, it hinders your spiritual power." She motioned to the rest of the elders. "See? We're all slim and healthy."

"Hold it!" Maya stamped her foot on the ground for lack of a table to slam. "Now you're just grasping at straws. Have you forgotten my sister? Or how about Sister Bikini up in Hazakurain?" She crossed her arms and smirked. "There's absolutely nothing to suggest that my weight affects my spiritual power!"

A few of the elders had to stifle their laughs. And Mystic Mariah had gone red with embarrassment.

"Mystic Mariah, dear," Mystic Molly spoke up. "Aren't you forgetting that Master Maya has a _very_ _healthy_ appetite?" More stifled laughs.

Maya's smirk grew wider as she could see the elders take her side.

She titled her chin up slightly. "I rest my case."

There was a moment of silence before one of the young acolytes, who had been watching the exchange from the back of the room, began to clap. Slowly, the rest of the acolytes joined in until the whole room was ringing with applause.

Maya was ecstatic. Mystic Mariah slumped in her chair, humiliated and defeated.

_Oh yeah. Maya Fey, ace attorney, baby!_

Pearl ran up to her and all but jumped into a tight hug. "You were amazing, Mystic Maya!" She exclaimed. "Just like Mr. Nick!"

"_Better_ than Mr. Nick, I reckon." The two giggled loudly as the applause continued.

Once it had died down, Maya addressed the entire room.

"Now, I think I have the perfect way to celebrate my return…

…Burgers!"

The young acolytes cheered and many of the elders joined in.

It was an unusual choice of meal for Kurain Village, but one everyone enjoyed.

And Mystic Mariah? Well… let's just say she celebrated in the Cavern of Tears.


End file.
